The Long Way Home
by WriteYourLifeOut
Summary: Shawn Spenser, a renown homeless man has put many a criminal behind bars in his time in Miami. He gets a call from a mysterious man threatening to kill him. Shawn must get out of Miami to live and get this man off of his case. His only place to go is his childhood home, Santa Barbara. He must use his own abilities and his newfound friends to catch this psychotic criminal.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**_ _Please review it and be honest with any criticism you have, I might continue if I get enough feedback._

 ** _Ch. 1_**

Shawn walked through the streets of Miami with nothing but the clothes on his back and the check from his most recent job in his pocket. He enjoyed the cool fall breeze on the coast of Florida. It's been 10 years since he left Santa Barbara and rid himself of his feuding father. Leaving Santa Barbara also had it's unexpected consequence of leaving his best friend to fend for himself. Since he left he hadn't had any contact with Gus.

Gus was his only real friend, his best friend since birth for that matter, and he felt guilty for not even thinking to call him. Whilst in Miami, Shawn was working for the Miami Police Department as a "Unofficial" detective. He had already built up a reputation amongst the police department as the "psychic" hobo. He enjoyed being able stop crime in his own home; the streets.

He continued his walk down four blocks and was rounding a corner when his phone begin to buzz. He pulled it out, not expecting to get a call since no one knew his number but the cops. He answered the call even though was a blocked number.

"Yello? Shawn Spenser here, what can I do ya for?"

A rich baritone voice responded," Shawn Spencer, the iconic "psychic" hobo, I have a warning for you. I wouldn't like for you to screw up any of my plans, so I've put a target on your back. I have notified all of the criminals in Miami, and they now know who put quite a few of them behind bars. I reckon they have a large score to settle with you For lost time. They all know your face and will stop at nothing to get the bounty on your head. I suggest you hurry out of town if you want to live-" he was cut off by Shawn saying, "First off, I'm not psychic. Secondly, if you truly want me dead or out of town why didn't you just send me a pineapple edible arrangement with a card saying «Get out Love-Darth Vader XOXOXO», and why warn me of the bounty that you put on me?"

The voice responded with a chuckle that sounded like a new Ford truck starting for the first time and said, "Shawn Shawn Shawn, I thought you would know better, where is the sport in killing an unsuspecting man. Plus, I know you will live and I want to save you for Later. Speaking of sport, those two man about 30 yards behind you aren't looking to buy your great hair style. You should run, Too-Da-Loo!"

"Wai-!" Shawn was interrupted by the line going dead.

How did he know About the two men following him? Shawn had noticed the two a few blocks back but never gave way that he knew he was being followed. Suddenly two more men came out of a side alley and join his two stalkers. Shawn noticed that they were picking up pace to catch him. When he turned around to see how close they were they brandished a variety of shanks and knives.

Shawn quickly called out, "sorry to be a party pooper but I gotta go, run along now!" He turned away from them just in time to see two more men come out of an alley a block in front of him. They were also carrying similar knives.

"Oh great now there's 6!" He said as he dashed across the empty street, "Darth Vader wasn't kidding, they are after me.…"


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N:_** Hey guys, sorry for the slow update, I'm constantly checking with my two beta readers who I couldn't thank more; Jenndude5 and Superpsych96. Props to you guys! I also want to say thanks to all the readers, you guys are great! *claps* Enjoy!

The Long Way Home

Ch. 2

... Shawn darted across the street with his assailants in tow behind him.

He heard their footsteps behind him on the concrete sidewalk, heavy and labored. He knew if he could outlast and confuse them, they would eventually give up. He began to weave in between street lamps and parked cars. They continued to follow him along his path. "They're not gonna catch me... I'm on a mission from God," he quoted while running.

He saw the nearest alley and headed for it.

As he reached the alley, Shawn noticed in the reflection of a car windshield that he had lost 2 of his chasers. Shawn turned down the alley and found that it conveniently came out to another major street with plenty of people on it. He ran down the alley and popped out next to a coffee shop and a book store. "Well this is Steve Martin's little slice of heaven isn't it now?" He wondered aloud.

He spotted a small crowd of people crossing the street up the block. Shawn immediately dashed for the crowd, hoping to get inside and blend in. Luckily his attackers were slightly slower than him and didn't care to notice that a certain person just joined the Miami book club; unofficially of course.

"I'm what you ordered... And here's your receipt," he giggled.

As Shawn crossed the street with his newfangled book club, the four remaining men looked around bewildered. How could he have vanished into thin air like that?

As a child, his dad taught him how to lose a criminal when being chased.

 _"All right Shawn," said Henry as he put his fishing gear in the back of his pickup. "Show me how to get away from a criminal who is chasing after you."_

 _Shawn sighed he put away his tackle box, "Come on dad not this again. Do I have to?" "Yes Shawn," Henry replied as he rolled his eyes, clearly agitated._

 _"Run Shawn! Do it now! Show me how to get away!" Henry yelled. "Go!" Shawn turned away from the pickup and began to jog away from the path and into the forest. "Run Shawn! Don't halfass your escape if you want to live! Run!"_

 _Shawn groaned and picked up his pace through the brush. "A line is the shortest distance between two people! Zigzag Shawn, zigzag!" Once again obeying his commanding father, he began to zigzag back and forth, from tree to tree and log to log._

 _Henry shouted again, "Throw them off your trail! Turn! Double back! Don't get caught! Keep on zigging and zagging! Go!"_

 _After another twenty minutes of constant running and dodging, Shawn trudged back to the pickup and crawled into the cab. His father opened up the other door and pulled himself in. "Now was that so bad?" His father asked; expectantly staring his son._

 _Shawn slumped over in his seat from fatigue. "Yes," Shawn muttered. "What was that?" Henry raised his eyebrows._

 _"Yes!" Shawn repeated louder. "Still can't hear you, Shawn," Henry said with a smile. He enjoyed giving his son the hardest time._

 _"Yes dad! It was that bad! Why don't you make Gus do this stuff?" Shawn yelled. Henry chuckled and put the key into the ignition and threw the truck into gear._

 _Before he started to drive, he turned to Shawn and said, "You will always question why I do what I do, but I guarantee that one day you will be glad that I taught you these things."_

Shawn kept running even though he was sure he lost his assailants.

He smirked at how easily he lost them.

Shawn looked up and saw an ad for California saying, "visit the West Coast, visit sandy beaches, visit California." Upon seeing this, he slowed his pace. He realized that the only place to go back to his childhood home. Back to the place that he never thought to return to, back to Santa Barbara California, his hometown.

A dozen more thought invaded his head ranging from "how do I get out of here?" To "what do I say to everybody back home?"

Remembering that he still had a bounty on his head, Shawn thought to shed his orange Miami Hurricanes jacket along with his dirty and torn, top pair of jeans by simply taking them off and throwing them away. This way he wasn't completely easy to recognize, at least from a distance.

Up close he probably stood no chance.

He needed money for his flight ticket to Santa Barbara so he redirected his course to the nearest bank. He pulled the check out of his pocket and unwrinkled it so he could cash it when he got there.

Continuing his trek, he noticed that something was off, but he couldn't quite place it. His paranoia eventually got the better of him and he started jogging towards the Bank of America on the corner, constantly checking behind him.

From the bank thought he saw something behind him. He turned his head For too long and accidentally ran into someone who had just crossed the street. "Hey watch it!" Said a female voice as they collided.

"Oomph," gasped Shawn as he hit the ground on his back.

"Oh no! I'm so very sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Shawn said apologetically. "Here let me help you," Shawn extended his hand as he stood up slowly.

"It's fine, it's my fault for not watching where I was going," she replied as she gracefully accepted Shawn's helping hand.

Shawn instantly noticed that this lady was a blonde at about 5'-31/2", roughly 28 years old, had a pale complexion, shorter hair drawn into a butterfly ponytail. He also noticed she had a gold necklace, amethyst ear rings, and a fake Rolex watch.

Shawn spoke first, "Well, while I'm here and any time is a good time to meet someone new, I will introduce myself." He continued with boyish charm and grins, "Hi I'm Shawn Spenser." He extended a hand to shake.

The woman shook his hand and said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Spenser-"

She was interrupted by Shawn cutting it with, "Please call me Shawn! Please continue."

"All right Shawn," she said emphasizing the Shawn bit with just a hint of amusement. "My name is Juliet. Juliet O'Hara."

"Well Ms. O'Hara, it is Ms. not Mrs. right? I don't see any ring," Shawn blushed.

"Yes it's just Miss for now, I just haven't found the right one yet," commented Juliet with a hint of suspicion and curiosity as she played with her hair nonchalantly.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that," Shawn apologized.

"I need to go before it gets any later, I'm on my lunch break and I've gotta get back to my place and grab some stuff," she smiled. "Lunch sometime?" She asked as his expression seemed to lighten at the fact of food.

"It can be a truly small world out there," he said while making grandiose gestures with his hands. "So I do not have my doubts that I'll take you up on that offer."

She began to walk away wondering who really is this Shawn Spenser? There was something quite odd about him and his care free charisma, but she couldn't quite place it.

Likewise, Shawn checked out this Juliet as she walked away. She had a very long stride for her height and it made her hips rock from side to side. He found this quite amusing. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about her, something he couldn't figure out what. As he said, the world can be small, and he knew in his gut that he would see her again.

He turned away after a moment and began to briskly walk the rest of the way to the bank. Once he reached the bank, he slipped through the doors and into the cool building. He walked over to an open teller and said hello.

The teller responded with a smile, "Hi and welcome to the official Bank of America, what can I do for you?" Shawn smiled back and asked to cash his check and proceeded to flirt with the bank teller.

Eventually he decided it was high time he left for the airport to get on his flight to Santa Barbara. So he walked outside into the warm air and out of the cool air conditioning from the building.

He stood out by the road and waited for a cab to come by. After about ten minutes of watching and waiting around, a taxi finally made its was down the road. He flagged the taxi driver down and hopped into the back.

He told the driver up front, "To the airport. Now. And step on it!"


End file.
